Wu Bangguo (r), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress arrives in Vladivostok. [Xinhua]

Russia will today host the opening of the 21st annual Asia-Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF) in Vladivostok, its eastern Maritime capital.

The Forum, which runs to 31 January, will discuss issues such as curbing the illegal drug trade, and the development of international and national laws promoting regional economic integration, growth, innovation, stability, and international security.

According to the APPF website, the deputies and senators from 28 countries will legalise the decisions taken by their heads of state at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum held in Vladivostok last September, which had prioritised to strengthen trade and investment, and regional economic integration, supply chains, food security and innovation.

In a welcome letter sent to delegates, APPF President Valentina Matvienko also said that this year’s summit will feature a round table “Asia Pacific – Europe: New Horizons for Co-operation” and a meeting of the young parliamentarians from the Asia Pacific Region.

Russia is also expected to introduce its region of Siberia for international investment projects.

Meanwhile, Ilias Umakhanov, deputy chairman of Russia’s Federation Council, told the Xinhua Chinese news agency that Beijing has been playing a leading role in widening inter-parliamentary exchanges and cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

57 founding members, many of them prominent US allies, will sign into creation the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on Monday, the first major global financial instrument independent from the Bretton Woods system.

Representatives of the countries will meet in Beijing on Monday to sign an agreement of the bank, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. All the five BRICS countries are also joining the new infrastructure investment bank.

The agreement on the $100 billion AIIB will then have to be ratified by the parliaments of the founding members, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a daily press briefing in Beijing.

The AIIB is also the first major multilateral development bank in a generation that provides an avenue for China to strengthen its presence in the world’s fastest-growing region.